This invention relates generally to digital data apparatus and more particularly to digital data apparatus having a reader for reading digital data encoded on datastrips contained on an application insert.
Microprocessor controlled equipment utilizing digital data have become commonplace in industry, in business and in the home. In some equipment (such as the microwave oven, or other consumer appliances), programming of the microprocessor is dedicated to the specific control of the equipment. Thus, the microprocessor is not independently programmable by the equipment user. In other equipment (such as home or personal computers), the microprocessor is the heart of a digital data system which may be independently programmed by the user. Thus, programs for applications such as word processing, database management, file management and financial management are readily available for use in personal computers. Morever, thousands of other programs are available for a wide variety of financial, educational, personal enrichment and entertainment applications.
Major obstacles to the wider acceptability of user programmable digital data apparatus have been the skill and time required to learn to use such apparatus. Moreover, available software often is expensive (costing several hundred dollars or more), and requires considerable time and effort to master the terminology and routines presented in the software. Typically, the home or personal computer includes a floppy disc drive. The software to be utilized in the computer is encoded on a floppy disc which is inserted into the floppy disc drive of the computer. Although versatile, such a programming system is expensive and requires skill to implement.
Other systems have been proposed for making microprocessor controlled apparatus more flexible and capable of performing a variety of functions through the use of interchangeable keyboard overlays, digital cartridges and the like. Thus, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,757 discloses a computer interactive device including a planar keyboard and a display panel. A resilient keyboard overlay defining a specific key applications may be inserted over the planar keyboard, and a program entered into the device by means of a separate cartridge. A similar technique is disclosed un U.S. Pat. No. 4,119,839, entitled KEYBOARD MASK FOR A GENERAL PURPOSE CALCULATOR, issued Oct. 10, 1978. Such systems are disadvantageous because, by separating the keyboard overlay from the data cartridge, one or the other may be lost, rendering the system useless. Moreover, the data cartridges or cassettes are expensive.
Another system which has been proposed for increasing the versatility of digital data apparatus is to provide a dedicated keyboard with a limited number of keys, but to store within the apparatus, software programming for different functions for each key relating to several different applications. Interchangeable keyboard overlays are then placed over the keyboard to provide visual indicia of the functions of the keys for a specific application. The keyboard overlays may also include machine readable codes to identify the specific application represented by the overlay. These systems are disadvantageous in the cost and size of memory needed to stored all of the programs. Moreover, the stored programs are not easily modified by a user. Such systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,317 entitled CONTROL DEVICE, issued Nov. 24, 1964; U.S. Pat. No. 3,560,964 entitled KEYBOARD UNIT, issued Feb. 2, 1971; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,021 entitled PORTABLE DATA ENTRY APPARATUS INCLUDING PLURAL SELECTABLE FUNCTIONAL CONFIGURATIONS, issued July 14, 1981.
Another programming system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,700, entitled MAGNETICALLY CODED SOFTWARE FOR MULTIPURPOSE COMPUTER, issued Dec. 23, 1986, filed Aug. 11, 1983. As disclosed in this patent, a computer keyboard matrix overlay panel includes both indicia indicating the function of keys and other operating instructions, and magnetic and optical datastrips along the edges of the overlay. As disclosed in FIG. 2 of this patent, the computer includes a reader 25 having a slot 24 for reading the datastrips when the overlay panel is inserted in an edgewise fashion into the reader slot. Once the datastrips have been read into the computer, the overlay is placed over the keys to provide a visual indication of the function of keys. The systems disclosed by this patent are disadvantageous in requiring the user to sequentially insert, each of the edges of the overlay panel containing a code strip, into the slotted reader before the panel is registered with the keys on the computer. Moreover, the edges of the panel may be damaged, resulting in loss of data.